what's new?

well, we're hangin' in there around here. it's sleeting and nasty outside, yuck . . . but here are a few new things in our lives:

we're praying for ev and her surgery in the morning. if you think of it we would appreciate all your prayers as well. "the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective" you know!! (it says so right there in james 5:16). and this one is especially meaningful today: "above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (proverbs 4:23) we're looking ahead to hearing a good report tomorrow and seeing her back in full evelyn-form soon! (if you know her at all then you know that "full evelyn-form" is quite a thing to behold :)) we love you ev!!!

we're all a little under the weather, but not totally sick. kirb came home early today and is taking a nap . . . as are joe and anna who also aren't feelin' 100%. hopefully it won't get any worse and they'll be back up and at 'em soon. also, we're hopin' no one else catches it (especially the MOM!)

the blessings just keep comin': you might remember the miracle washing machine. just today we got a free refrigerator. believe it or not, we have a thing for getting free appliances (we got a free dishwasher in 2007 that was also a huge blessing . . . but that was pre-blog). my grandma and her sister bought a townhouse together recently and the previous owners had done a kitchen remodel and got new appliances (sounds familiar . . . much like the washing machine story). anyway, turns out 2 women in their 80's don't have much use for an extra frige in the basement so they said we could have it. it also turns out an extra frige in the basement DOES come in handy for a family of 7!!! i washed all the shelves and drawers and bins and stuff this morning and hopefully soon it will make it's way into our kitchen and the old one will move to it's new home in the laundry room. if we can get the water piped over to that part of the kitchen we might even be blessed with an ice-maker . . . will wonders never cease?